Broken Strings
by Krazy Ky-Sta Hatter
Summary: They are a team. One half of a whole. Yin and Yang... But when Ladybug falls under control of an Akuma and turns against him, Chat Noir needs to find a way to bring her back. It's not going to be easy when he's alone up against so many foes. (Ep 18 Reverse doll control AU).
1. It's Too Late

_**Hi everyone!**_

 _ **Yeah, I know. ANOTHER fic.**_

 _ **I can't help it. This show has me thinking of a new fic at least every week. (Thankfully I've managed to merge this one with another idea I'd had, so that helps).  
Anyway, this is an AU of episode 18 where The Puppeteer gets Ladybug's doll instead of Chat's. I seriously loved this episode, though I was a little sad that they made Chat seem so incredibly redundant after really trying to drive home that they were a team in the last episode. I have a few theories about this ep that I'm going to slip in in the next chapter too. It's a little rushed, but you guys know this part of the story. The next chapter is where it gets good.**_

 _ **I hope you like it!**_

* * *

.

.

.

 **It's Too Late**

.

Adrien grinned as he stepped into the carriage. He barely used the subway, and still found it quite entertaining. It was a novelty. Of course, he was still in a good mood having slipped away from Gorilla. Sure he was going to be in a lot of trouble, but it would so be worth it.

He looked at his phone, ignoring the texts from his driver and checked the screening times for the movie he wanted to see. It wasn't often that he got to do things like this, and it gave him a rush of excitement almost similar to the one he got being Chat Noir.

As he slipped his phone away, he looked round at the rest of the carriage. Seeing someone familiar, his eyes darted back to the window. Through the window in the other carriage, he could see Marinette and Alya. Though, as soon as Marinette saw him look, she ducked out of view in panic. It made him frown a little. Did he really scare her that much? He waved to Alya with a small smile. She returned his wave, looking apologetic for her friend. He watched her mutter something before dragging Marinette from behind her and making her wave too. ...When did she end up hiding behind her? Shrugging it off, he just waved to the shy girl who grinned nervously at him.

Suddenly, as he was watching, a bright blue light began to shine around Alya. She dropped her friend's hand and was yelling in confusion. As the light travelled up her body, her normal clothing was replaced with a black suit... A very familiar black suit.

He rushed to the window in panic. He needed to be in their carriage. He had to do something! But all he could do was watch as Alya once again became Lady Wifi.

Oh god, Marinette was still with her.

Instantly, Lady Wifi stood and whipped around to her friend. She pointed at her, shouting something he couldn't quite make out. Marinette looked shocked and confused. Suddenly Lady Wifi looked like a child throwing a tantrum, and he heard her quite clearly shout the word 'dolls'. W-what was going on? Why was Lady Wifi acting like a child? What dolls? Whatever Marinette was saying to her, she seemed just as confused as he was.

As soon as the train stopped and the second the doors open, Lady Wifi was speeding away on one of her symbols. Huh... that was weird. He didn't remember her having that power last time. Marinette ran after her. He dashed out of the train in time to hear her shout something about 'we're not playing!' He wasn't sure what she was on about, but that could wait. He had to find somewhere to transform.

Looking about, there wasn't anywhere very good out of sight. And he couldn't dash back into the train, there was too many people there. The only place that wasn't packed was... the conductor's booth.

He ran up to the front of the train and grabbed the attention of the driver. "Excuse me, sir. There's... there's a cat! There, in the carriage!" he cried. It was a flimsy excuse, but it got the man to leave and check it out. Quickly, he stepped inside and let Plagg out.

"A cat?" his Kwami scoffed.

"Plagg, we need to do something!"

"But we just got rid of your Gorilla!" he complained.

"Plagg, Claws Out!"

"So, we're just going to forget about the cinema and the delicious popcorn-" He was cut off as he was sucked into the ring, the transformation already starting.

It was barely a second later that Chat Noir dashed from the driver's car and ran back to where he could see Marinette standing. She was looking down into the small bag at her hip. She was saying something, but stopped short when he placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped in shock, turning to face him.

"Hey, that was Lady Wifi," he said, pointing the way she had gone. "Did she say something to you?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but Lady Wifi was talking like a kid I know. It's a bit like she was controlling Alya, my friend. I mean, Lady Wifi." As she spoke, she used wild gestures, and he had try hard not to grin at how cute it was. She wasn't like this in front of him very often. It was like as Chat Noir he got to see a whole other side to her, and he loved it. He shook his head slightly, trying to focus on what she was saying intently. "And all that from afar. Ah, it's so weird!"

"And what was that with the dolls?" he asked. He realised a bit late that he shouldn't know that, but if Marinette noticed his slip up, she didn't say anything.

"I have dolls at my place that she likes to play with."

"Your dolls?" It sounded like she wanted the dolls. And they would likely be at Marinette's house. That must be where she was headed. "Okay, where do you live?"

He already knew where she lived. Heck, he'd been there a few times now both as himself and as Chat Noir. But Marinette didn't know that, and it was better to try and throw her off. It may seem weird if Chat Noir knew where she lived after visiting her house only _once_ to pick her up.

"12 Gottlieb Street," she said quickly.

"Noted. I'll take care of it," he told her, already running towards the stairs.

It didn't take him long to bound across the roofs of Paris to get to his friend's house. Though, he honestly couldn't help wondering what it was with that girl and Akumas. Even though Chloé seemed to cause most of them, so many of them were somehow connected with Marinette. It was like she was a magnet for them. He wasn't sure that was okay, or if it was a bad thing. Was Hawkmoth targeting her vicariously or something? He shook his head at the idea, but was broken from his thoughts by a shout.

"Hey, Kitty! It's over here!" Ladybug's voice rung out from where she stood atop Marinette's roof. How did she get there so fast? How had she even known? With a last little jog, he hoisted himself up, extending his staff all the way up and followed after Ladybug as she swung inside the small round window to Marinette's room. He landed into a graceful crouch on the chase on the lower level, Ladybug beside him. Lady Wifi was already in the process of grabbing toys from Marinette's work bench.

"Puppeteer," Ladybug called, getting her attention. "Aren't you ashamed? It's not nice to steal your babysitter's dolls."

"And creeping into other people's houses with out permission. You deserve to go to bed without any desert," he teased.

"Soon I'll have your Miraculouses," Puppeteer shouted at them. "You bunch of evil good guys, super not pretty!"

Chat cocked his head in confusion. He wasn't quite sure what she just said. He'd gotten the part about getting their Miraculouses (yada, yada, yada), but all he'd understood after that was... 'super not pretty'?

"Super not pretty, you say? Nah, if there's someone here like that it's not me," he joked. Or his Lady, but he doubted she would appreciate that flirt right now. Of course, he couldn't help but say it. He was a model, he was allowed to say those sort of things. It was kind of hard to not know you're good looking when you have all of Paris telling you so, no matter how low your self esteem is. He shot a cheeky grin at Ladybug and she growled in return.

Lady Wifi / Puppeteer growled too, shouting, "Pause!" as she swiped a symbol at him. Thinking quick, he swung his staff around, deflecting the symbol and sending it off to a poster of... him? Wait... He glanced around the room, seeing a few other posters. Those... were not there last time he was in her room.

Beside him, Ladybug let out a small squeak. She jumped forward, using her yoyo as a shield too. "Do you remember how we took down Lady Wifi last time?"

"By putting the relay antenna out of order!" he cried. "On it!" He was already swinging up out of the window again. It didn't take him long at all to get up onto her balcony, then over the wall to where the box was. He called Cataclysm, and within seconds, the antenna had disintegrated.

There was a crash from below, and he looked down to see Lady Wifi speeding off out of the house and through the streets. He jumped down, using his staff to land safely, right beside where Ladybug had just landed herself.

"Did you capture her Akuma?" he asked.

"No, she didn't have one," she told him, much to both of their confusion.

"But that's impossible!" he exclaimed.

Oh god. If she wasn't possessed by Hawkmoth, then what was wrong with Alya? How were they going to turn her back to normal. He didn't think he would be able to face Marinette if he couldn't get her best friend back for her.

"It's the Puppeteer who controls her, she's the one who must have the Akuma!"

"Of course! Lady Wifi was just a puppet!"

This Puppeteer must have a Lady Wifi doll like the others she just nabbed. And somehow she used that to turn Alya back into Lady Wifi. Yes! That meant that she'd be okay when they stopped the Puppeteer! Though, since there were other dolls, it was likely they were going to run into more past Akuma.

He gasped when he suddenly realised that there weren't just Akuma dolls. There was also a Ladybug and Chat Noir. Oh god. What if she started controlling _him_! "Did you take the Chat Noir doll back?" he panicked.

A sad smile appeared on his Lady's face and she took a black doll from her belt, handing it to him. "Yes. It's okay, Chat. It's safe, right here."

He took it from her with a sigh of relief. But that relief was cut short when he noticed something. "Wait... Where's the Ladybug doll?"

At this, her smile fell, causing dread to coil in his stomach. "I only had time to grab the one. Lady Wifi paused me after I grabbed it. She was about to take my Miraculous when you cut the signal.

His eyes widened in horror. "No! No, no, no! We have to get it back. We have to get the Puppeteer before she controls any more dolls, especially you!" He placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes full of concern. He couldn't let her control Ladybug. He couldn't do this without her!

Right then, a beep came from his ring.

"Chat Noir, your ring!" she gasped. "You're going to detransform!"

"But we can't let her control your doll! We have to go and-"

"I'll go get it!" she assure him. "You go feed your Kwami and meet up with me."

He bit his lip, anxious to leave her. But when his ring beeped a second time, he turned and ran off to find somewhere to detransform. She was right. There was nothing he could do to help her as just Adrien.

.

He managed to get far enough to hide behind a wide post on an empty street before his transformation wore out. It wasn't exactly the best spot, but no one was around. He peered about, making sure that was still true as Plagg ate. He looked down to see the Kwami starting on his second piece and frowned in annoyance.

"What? I'm savouring my cheese!" he said.

"Yeah well, can't you savour it faster? Ladybug could be in danger!" He didn't give his Kwami a chance to eat his second chunk of cheese. He didn't need it. Instead he called, "Plagg, Claws Out!"

He was running off through the streets before his transformation had even fully finished. Snatching his baton from behind his back, he opened the screen and called his partner. She picked up after only a few short rings and he was greeted with the pleasant sight of her smiling face on the small screen.

"Did you find her?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright for now, Kitty," she told him, a fond smile gracing her lips. "And yeah, I've found her. She's in the Kids+ TV building."

"Okay, I'll be right there!" He hung up the phone and focused on moving as fast as he could. He ran, vaulting on his staff and scampering over the roofs on all fours. He had to help his Lady!

When he reached the reception area, three people, including Alec Cataldi and Nadja Chamack, turned to him and pointed him to the room that Ladybug had gone to. And once again he was sprinting down the halls as silently as he could. He grinned in relief when he saw her at a pair of red doors. He went over an placed his hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly, he was being pushed into the ground, Ladybug trying to hold his arm behind his back.

"Ladybug, it's me!" he cried. For a second, a spike of panic ran through him. Oh god, what if the Puppeteer had already gotten to her?! But that thought was dashed in an instant when she let go with a sheepish giggle.

"Sorry!" she said, scratching the back of her head like he usually did when he was nervous.

"We should get in there quick. Who knows how long it will be until she decides she wants Ladybug as her plaything." His voice came out as a low growl. He didn't like the idea of that one bit. No one messed with his Lady!

"Let's go on three," she said. He knew what she meant, and together they backed up, getting ready to kick the door in. "One, two, three!"

They leapt, using their combined force to break the lock on the door. Both of them landed on their feet and took in the scene in a split instant. The Puppeteer floated in the middle of the room, three puppets floating around her, and Lady Wifi standing off to the side. The Ladybug doll lay on the ground before her.

"Ladybug!" she cried. Eyes widening, Chat Noir ran forward, guessing what was about to happen next, even as the doll floated up into the sky. He leapt, trying to reach for it. "Come to life!"

"Noo!" he shouted, just a bit too late as the blue magic hit the doll. Before he could grab it, it flipped away from him. A moment later, he landed, rolling and twisting so that he was now facing Ladybug and the small doll beside her. They both knelt on the ground, and at the same time, they lifted their heads, a smirk on their face. Her eyes seemed different. They were still the same colour, but now they seemed empty. Cold.

Dread crept through his body as it really hit him, what had just happened. Ladybug was no longer herself. She was being controlled... He was alone.

"Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty," Ladybug said with a malicious grin at the same time as the puppeteer shouted it. "Give me that doll. I want your Miraculous!"

Chat Noir shook his head, his eyes wide with panic as he clutched onto the doll tighter. A single word left his lips, full of horror and despair.

"No..."


	2. Just His Luck

_**Hey everyone!**_

 _ **So, I finally got the next chapter of this one done whilst writing half a dozen new one shots. It took a bit because the entire chapter is one big long fight scene. I based it very roughly on the episode, but since the situation was different, of course Chat handles everything differently.**_

 _ **Just a warning, I am not good at fight scenes, so I apologise if this chapter is not too great. (This is also why I am having trouble with Wake Me Up).**_

 _ **Anyway, I do have a lot more than just this ep planned for the fic, so there is more to come. I hope you like it anyway!**_

* * *

.

.

.

Just His Luck

.

Chat Noir stared in horror as his partner slowly advanced on him. The look in her eyes was terrifying. All of her usual warmth and passion was gone. It was like she was just empty, reflecting the emotions of the one who controlled her. She raised her yoyo.

"L-Ladybug, snap out it," he begged. He knew it was useless, but still the plea escaped his lips.

The yoyo whipped out and he did a few backwards walkovers to jump out of the way. Of course, this brought him a lot closer to Lady Wifi, and he tuned and backed away slightly so he could see both of them. He was in a jam here. Two very powerful women were targeting him. One with an indestructible yoyo and incredible skill, the other with a literal pause button (well, as soon as she got her hands on a phone).

The Puppeteer floated behind Lady Wifi, a delight grin on her face, the four puppets floating behind her... Four... His eyes darted to all the puppets. Lady Wifi. Ladybug. Evillustrator. Rogercop. They had all been activated. But then, where were-

The doors swung open once again and the two past Akuma walked in.

"Oh shit," he groaned. "So that's how you want to play it, huh? Five against one. Those odd are a little _paw_ in my favour."

This time there was no eye roll from Ladybug at his pun. He just watched in dismay as the three past Akuma and his Lady gathered behind the Puppeteer. All of them had the same empty look on their face.

His eyes darted to the Evillustrator. (Poor Nathanaël). He was the biggest wild card of the group. He knew all of their powers and moves. He knew how he could avoid them. With everyone else it was a matter of making sure they didn't snag him. But Nathanaël... the Evillustrator's powers were to bring his drawings to life. He could draw anything.

"I want the Chat Noir doll!" the Puppeteer shouted, waving her wand forward like she was directing them to charge. "Bring it to me!" As she said this, she floated up and behind them, getting out of their way.

Evillustrator instantly put his stylus to his tablet, sketching something out. He tensed, preparing for whatever he was going to throw at him, but instead a phone appeared in the air and dropped down into Lady Wifi's waiting hands.

"Thank you, Evillustrator," she said with a smirk. "Now, let's take the doll!"

They all charged at him and in an instant, he was extending his staff so he shot towards the roof. He landed on the metal scaffolding that held up the lights and looked down at them.

"Is this what you want?" he taunted, waving the doll at them. "Well too bad, you can't have it. It's mine."

Ladybug's yoyo wrapped around the beam beside him and he leaped over to the next just as she swung herself up. He jumped from one beam to the next till he had past the others, and leapt down. He rolled as he hit the ground and stood back up into a run in the same movement. He ran out the door and through the halls. Maybe he could find a way to separate them.

He could hear four pairs of footsteps chasing him. All four of them were running up the stairs as fast as they could. He was already at the top, having used his staff as an elevator, and he went out onto the roof. He jumped up onto the highest structure that wasn't the 50 foot billboards and hid well back, watching from his high vantage point as the puppets charged out onto the roof after him.

They stopped and looked about in bewilderment. Ladybug and Lady Wifi were the first out, and were standing father away. Rogercop and Evillustrator were much closer to him. It was clear to him that Ladybug wasn't acting on her own instincts and skills. If she had, the first thing she would have done was look up. But instead she was looking around the roof as if he would be somewhere down there.

"Where did he go?" Lady Wifi cried.

He looked about at the area, assessing what he could do. There wasn't much to work with, and he didn't have Ladybug's quick thinking. But he had to try...

Okay, they wanted the doll. What could he do about that? One, keep running and try and keep it out of their reach. Two, get rid of it so they couldn't get it. What would happen if they did get it? They would give it to the Puppeteer who would control him, take his and Ladybug's Miraculouses, and everything would be over. He _really_ couldn't afford to let that happen.

Even if he he did manage to stop them grabbing the doll, he still had to get back to the Puppeteer and find some way to free Ladybug, as well as break the item that held the Akuma. But he _had_ to find a way to free Ladybug, if he didn't it would be pointless. He wouldn't be able to purify the Akuma without her. Catch it, sure. Set everything right? Never.

He looked down at the small doll in his hands... The tiny little Chat Noir with a soft, black body. It had tiny ears and a tail made from the same fabric. Despite the fact that the eyes were beads, they still somehow managed to look cheeky, especially with the smirk that had been stitched on. A small smile tugged at his lips as he imagined Marinette sitting at her work bench, her tongue poked out in concentration as she carefully and lovingly stitched every piece together. She must have put so much work into this... into all of them.

There was only one thing he could think to do right now, and that image in his head made it all that much harder. His eyes scrunched shut as an image of Marinette hurt and crying flashed through his mind. A small sigh escaped him and he hung his head. It was unavoidable.

"I'm sorry, Marinette," he murmured. Then he stood up from his hiding spot and walked forward so they could easily see him. "How about up here?" he called down to them.

He waited till they were all looking up at him, then he raked his claws down the length of the soft toy. A sickening shredding sound filled his ears and he watched as stuffing spilled from the long gashes down the little Chat's body. Guilt ripped through him like his claws had the mini Chat as he stared at the torn soft toy. It was mangled and ruined. Not even someone as talented as Marinette could save it now. Then, with a final tug, the mini Chat fell to pieces, no longer recognisable as the doll it had once been.

No longer usable as a puppet.

Below him, all of the puppet people growled, Ladybug letting out an angry shriek. She began to throw a tantrum, the Puppeteer's words pouring from her lips as she stamped her foot. She was pouting, looking every bit like a child. He actually found the pouty face rather adorable. But suddenly she fell quiet, her head turning to Evillustrator.

The smile dropped from his face as he realised that the Puppeteer was thinking of something. His eyes darted down to Evilustrator to see him nod and start drawing. It didn't take long for him to figure out what he was drawing. She wanted the doll. And now that he had destroyed the only one… she was getting him to draw her a new one. He realised that she could have easily done that at the start, but the mind of a child tends to only see what was right in front of them. And only now that the thing she wanted was gone did she realise she could get anything she wanted. God, Evillustrator could draw her an entire army of puppets! But she only needed the one. She needed him, and then the game was won.

He couldn't let that happen!

In a single leap, he jumped down from his spot and spear tackled his re-Akumatized classmate. Evillustrator let out a grunt as he hit the ground and the stylus was knocked from his hand, skittering across the roof. Chat Noir didn't hesitate in his actions. He got up from Evillustrator, making sure that when he pushed off he kicked backwards, making sure he wasn't going to get up and follow. He reached for the pen and snapped it in half. Unlike last time, nothing happened to Evillustrator. There was no Akuma, and he didn't turn back into Nathanaël. But at least he couldn't draw anymore. His powers were useless. The wild card was gone.

He glanced up just in time to see Rogercop aiming at him. He dodged to the side, taking one of the cables with him as he did. Like last time, he quickly dashed around the big, slow man and climbed up his back. He wasn't thrown off like last time. Instead, he evaded the grabbing arms, looping the cable around one, then the other and swinging back down to the ground. There was a crunch, and he looked back up to see that the cable had actually _snapped_ the weapons _off_ his arms. Without those he couldn't shoot his handcuffs at anyone. Chat grinned. Another Akuma weapon destroyed.

He was good at destroying things, so why not. It's not like he had the upper hand. Usually he didn't have to destroy much, because with Ladybug there, there were more options. At the moment, all he seemed to think was 'destroy'. Destroy their weapons. Destroy the dolls (and prey that his half-baked plan worked). Destroy the Akuma's tainted item. And hopefully from there the destruction could stop, and Ladybug could _cleanse_ the Akuma. And she could _cure_ all the damage he'd done. But as much as he hated it sometimes, destruction was what he was good at. And right now, it was what would help him win… he hoped.

With Rogercop and Evillustrator now out of commission, he was left to face Ladybug and Lady Wifi. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't worry about them either. They could still attempt to catch him even without their weapons. Evillustrator wasn't _too_ much of a threat, he was smaller than him and his abilities were not physical. But Rogercop was huge, and though he was slow, he could catch him.

"You. Ruined. My. _Doll!_ " Lady Wifi suddenly shrieked.

"Yeah, I would a-paw-logise, but I'm really not sorry," he smirked.

She yelled and charged at him. His eyes widened and with a yelp he dove back into action, tugging on the cable he still held causing Rogercop to stumble forward. As he dashed past the giant man to the door, he shoved Evillustrator into him and the two of them collided with Lady Wifi. Ladybug was the only one to escape the Akuma pile, soaring over them with her yoyo. He stopped her from following him my slamming the door just before she swooped in. There was a loud thunk and a groan as her heels connected with the metal door. He winced, hoping he hadn't hurt her too much, but he didn't have much time to linger on that as he swung himself over the railings. He free fell for a few floors before he extended his staff and slid the rest of the way down. He was running the moment his feet touched the ground. He ran all the way to the room where Puppeteer was, only pausing outside the door to listen.

Nothing. He couldn't hear anything. He wondered if the child Akuma was just being really quite, or if she was even in there at all.

He was about to turn and go searching for her when he saw it... It shuddered and shook, drawing his attention to it. There was something about the glowing spot that instantly had him entranced. It was so small. Just... a small red dot. But the way it twitched on the wall beside him beaconed him. We wanted it. He needed to catch it... It was going to be his!

He pounced, hands gasping for the spot. He grinned when he saw his hands cupped over the wall. There was no way it had been fast enough to escape him! He carefully lifted his hands to peer at it... only find that it _wasn't_ in his hands! Looking about, he saw it on the wall a few meters away. How had it gotten there?

"Hey!" he said in annoyance. "Come back here!"

He had to get this little dot. It was red and small, like a ladybug. He just knew that something about it was important. It would fix everything! He dashed after it, but again it moved. It was faster than he had thought! He ran after it as it sped along the floor. He followed, the need to catch that damn dot growing stronger by the second. He thought he had it when it paused on a set of doors. He leaped at it, clutching it in his hands and rolling as the force of his body pushed the doors open.

That was when he became aware of the giggling. In front of him, Puppeteer was laughing at him, but she wasn't the only one. He looked back to see Ladybug now standing in the doorway, a hand pressed to her lips to stifle the sound. She held something in her other hand. It was some sort of small, thin cylinder, it was red with black spots... and some sort of red beam was emitting from the end... leading to the red spot on the floor that he had been chasing for the last minute.

A laser pointer...

Shit!

He was just about to start panicking at the realisation that those things actually worked on him when he heard something even more horrifying.

A beep.

A quick glance down at his ring showed him that it wasn't him. It hadn't been nearly long enough since he'd recharged, and he hadn't used any of his attacks yet. So the only one who could have beeped like that was... He looked back up at Ladybug, who still stood just outside the doors with the laser pointer in her hand. Her Lucky Charm. Just one glance at her earrings confirmed that one of the spots was gone.

Oh shit.

He had to act fast, otherwise she was going to transform back in front of everyone.

He glanced back into the room where he could see the Puppeteer floating, holding her stomach as she giggled. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the giggling, then she may have gotten him close enough that she could have taken his Miraculous. He was lucky she was just a child.

He looked back at Ladybug again in time to see Lady Wifi run in, Evillustrator and Rogercop right behind her. Her phone was raised at the ready and his eyes widened. He had a few options, but his time was limited. He needed to free Ladybug before she ran out of time. But Lady Wifi was a huge threat. The moment he turned his back she would freeze him. He needed to evade her. And he needed to get those dolls away from the Puppeteer. Even then, he didn't know if this half-baked plan would work. There was a chance this would free them, or it would be a bit more like voodoo dolls than he would like and what he did to the dolls would happen to the person. He shuddered at the thought and tried not to feel sick as the image of that flashed through his mind. He had to hope. He just _really_ had to hope he was right.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Lady Wifi smirked and swiped at her phone. With a small yelp, he leapt out of the way, barely missing him.

He back flipped until he was a fair distance away. He was closer to the Puppeteer, but he kept his eyes on the group before him. Puppeteer could no longer harm him without using her puppets. Evillustrator and Rogercop were too far away to do anything. But Ladybug and Lady Wifi were both long range opponents. Lady Wifi was already attacking again, and Ladybug was getting ready to swing out her yoyo and snag him by the ankle. If only he could get them to intercept each other while still managing to doge them both.

Another beep pierced the air and he winced. He had to move quickly.

He moved around, trying to avoid the two ladies. At one point Ladybug snared his wrist, but he managed to drag her off balance by vaulting back over top of the child Akuma. As he did, he saw his chance and snatched out at a doll. He didn't give himself a chance to think about the consequences. He dug his claws into the centre and ripped outwards. The doll was in shreds before he even ducked into a roll and hit the ground. He looked down at the mess of fluff and fabric in his hands, recognising it as Lady Wifi. He whipped around to where she had been just a moment ago. She still stood with her phone in her hand, posed to fire at him… Only now instead of Lady Wifi, it was Alya who was looking around in confusion. He couldn't help but let out a cheer.

"Wh-what the hell?" she said. "How did I get here? Where's Mari?!" She spotted them and her eyes lit up. "Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Her phone instantly went up and he groaned.

"Alya, I swear to god if you start filming-"

Another beep drew his attention away and he swore. Ladybug, completely unphased by her impending detransformation, just grinned and gave a harsh tug on the string that was still wrapped around his wrist. He pitched forward, yelping as she pulled him off balance. He careened into her, knocking them both to the ground and he landed on top of her. Usually he would be embarrassed or ecstatic about the situation, but there was no time at the moment. Her hand shot out and grabbed his right wrist, dragging it up over to her other hand, her fingers pinched, ready to pluck his ring from his finger. But as she snatched his arm from the ground he lost his support and fell. He used this motion to roll off her to the side and away.

"What's going on?" Alya yelled at him. "Why is Ladybug trying to get your Miraculous?!"

Even though she was a very curious soul, Chat could see that she looked rather worried. He could also see the two Akumas coming up behind her, ready to grab her.

"Alya, look out!"

He threw his baton, rebounding it off Rogercop's head and knocking him backwards. He was running towards her as he caught it, but Evillustrator had already grabbed hold of her. Chat was about to charge at him when Alya did something he wasn't expecting. She aimed a backwards kick at the purple tinted boy, then grabbed hold of him and used his own weight to throw him to the ground. A determined scowl was on her face as she spun away from him, pausing in a stance with her fists up, ready to fight.

Chat blinked in surprise. "Where did you learn to do that?!" he said in bewilderment.

"Defence classes," she replied breathlessly. "Marinette was getting worried about me chasing after Akuma all the time. Figured she might worry less if I can kick their asses too."

"R-right, okay then," he said. "Good idea. That's actually a really good idea. Um... Good job, but you'd better get out of here quick. Go!" he gave her a slight shove towards the door and she ran off without any more prompting. He was almost relieved to see that for some reason Evillustrator and Rogercop ran after her. It wasn't a smart move, but it worked well for him. Alya had proved that she could handle herself, and they were more of a distraction than a threat. Now it was just him, the Puppeteer and Ladybug. With Lady Wifi out of the picture he no longer had to worry about being frozen to the spot when he turned his back.

He still stood with his back to the child, his eyes focused on Ladybug. He was painfully aware of just how little time they had. And the fourth beep from her earrings only served as a reminder of that.

"Hand over the ring, Kitty," she said to him.

"Not a chance, my Lady," he told her with a grin. Though, the grin was purely to hide his worry.

Sure Ladybug could easily take him in a fight. Even though they were usually evenly matched, she had luck on her side and he didn't. That wasn't too much of an issue right now seeing as she was being controlled by a child who didn't know the full extent of her abilities. Still it was enough to delay him until her energy ran out and she was forced to reveal herself. Of course Hawkmoth would try some dirty trick like that!

Welp, they were playing dirty, so would he. He knew he had no chance if Ladybug go her yoyo around him. So he would just have to make sure that she didn't. His eyes flicked down to his staff, which was in his hands at the ready. Then his eyes flicked to a door at the side of the room. A supply closet. A new idea began to form.

"Sorry, my Lady," he told her casually, "but you'll thank me later."

And with that, he extended his staff out with the butt of it towards her. It slammed into her stomach and pushed her all the way to the other side of the room by the door. She collapsed to the ground, looking slightly winded, but he didn't spare a second. Before she could recover her bearings, he spun around towards the Puppeteer and leapt at her. His fingers _just_ snagged a hold of the Ladybug toy floating beside her when he heard the telltale whizz of Ladybug's yoyo and felt himself being jolted backwards by the ankle.

But it didn't matter anymore. Once again, he dug his claws into the centre of the toy and ripped it apart. He knew that it was beyond use now and that Ladybug was free. But still he had no time to celebrate that. Not yet.

He was already running towards Ladybug as she looked about in confusion. "Wait, what-?"

She was cut off when at the same time her earrings gave their last beep and Chat barrelled into her. In one motion he scooped her up, opened the door and dived into the supply closet. He put her down and slammed the door shut...

Just in time to watch her transformation fall away.


	3. In the Dark

_**Hey!**_

 _ **Wow, it took me a while to write this one. I have been uber busy with work, theatre and face painting. Yes! I've gotten back into theatre and it's great! We've had a show on the last two weeks, and even though I'm only doing props and the curtains this time around, it's still been pretty full out.**_

 _ **Thankfully during the show I don't have to do too much until the scene changes. So I've spent the scenes writing fics in my notebooks. Still, I didn't have this one handy and it has been SO close to finishing for two weeks! But now it's finally done! And it is so full of fluff!**_

 _ **And no, this isn't the last chapter. This is one of the longer fics I have planned. Yay! A long fic! Maybe I won't just be a One Shot Wonder for this fandom.**_

 _ **Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

.

.

.

 **In the Dark**

.

.

A bright pink light assaulted Chat Noir's eyes in the dark of the closet and instantly he slammed them closed. For a split second he thought he had glimpsed the figure of a familiar girl in familiar clothes, with a familiar bag sitting at her hip. It was all so _familiar_ , but he hadn't gotten enough of a look to be sure he knew her. And he wasn't going to.

No matter who she was under the mask, this was his Lady, and he wasn't going to break her trust. She didn't want to know each other's identity, and though he didn't like it, he respected her decision. He wasn't going to look, no matter how much his curiosity begged him. No matter how he wanted to look because _he was sure he knew that bag!_ He just had to look at it a moment longer...

No! No, he wasn't going to look, he was going to keep his eyes closed or his back turned. He was not going to look at her.

He almost broke that vow right away when a small gasp broke the silence between them. But he forced his eyes to stay closed.

"Tikki?" she questioned. "Tikki?!" Her voice was a strange mix of Ladybug's and someone else's. With the cloaking magic in their suits no longer active, it was a little strange. Because that was Ladybug's voice, it was always Ladybug's voice, just the way he heard it almost every night. But it was also the voice of someone else... someone familiar. His fists tightened as he realised that he probably knew her. "Tikki, where are you?!"

The panic in her voice snapped him out of his thoughts as another realisation dawned on him. She couldn't see. It was probably pitch black in here. Despite the fact that he had his eyes closed, he would easily be able to see everything except colours if he did open them. But Ladybug didn't have night vision, not as Ladybug and certainly not as herself.

"I'm right here, M – Ladybug!" The new voice was small and sweet, though incredibly tired. He could almost picture the owner of it being as adorable as she sounded. It must be her Kwami.

"H-hold on a moment, I'll get you a cookie." He heard her shuffling around, opening her bag and grabbing something. As she was doing this, he blindly turned to the door, turned his staff sideways and extended it so it barred the door. It wouldn't really stop Rogercop if he tried to get in, but it would give them time. "You're on my shoulder, right?" Ladybug said to her Kwami. "H-have you got it? I don't want to knock you off."

"Um... hold on... Oh! I felt it. Yep, I've got it now." Ladybug let out a sigh of relief.

"I forgot that neither of you could see in the dark," he commented quietly. She made a strange strangled noise at that, somewhere between a squeak and a cringe. He could practically _feel_ her tense up, even though he wasn't near enough to touch her. He was confused about what had made her act like that for a moment before it clicked Oh no! She thought he could see her! "O-oh, don't worry, my Lady. My eyes are closed. I haven't peeked, I promise."

"Y-you haven't?" she whispered timidly.

He shook his head before remembering she couldn't see it. "Nope. You don't want to know each others identities yet. I'm not going to break your trust on that, no matter how tempting it is."

She was silent a moment, then he felt her move forward. A hand reached out towards him and he felt it gently brush up from his chest where it landed, until she found his cheek. Then she leaned in and pressed a small kiss to his cheek. This close her smell was intoxicating. She smelled like fresh baking. He'd noticed that about her last time, but had put it down to the fact that they were in a bakery. But no, the sweet smell was coming from her. He breathed out a sigh, feeling himself start to tremble. Ladybug had just kissed his cheek, and her heavenly scent filled the small space so much it was hard for him to concentrate.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly. "That - that really means a lot. Thank you, Kitty,"

"A-anytime," he replied breathlessly.

"Wh-what happened though? I don't remember anything after we got here. Did Puppeteer get a hold of me? Are you okay? Did she get your doll too? Why did my transformation run out?"

"Slow down," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. An indignant squeak had him retracting one hand as he felt it come down on a small figure. "Oops! Sorry, Tikki! Ah... You don't have to worry, Ladybug. Most of it is under control. She managed to turn you into one of her puppet people. You weren't easy to fight, even if you all were controlled by a four year old."

"Six," she corrected, probably with a roll of her eyes.

"Right, anyway, so I managed to destroy Evillustrator and Rogercop's weapons and free you and Alya, but not before she made you use Lucky Charm. Those two won't be much trouble anymore and Puppeteer is just out there without her minions or dolls. As soon as you're ready we can end all of this and free that poor child. Seriously, what kind of bastard Akumatizes a child?!"

"What kind of person Akumatizes anyone? But I do have to say, Evilizing Manon was low. Hold on... if you destroyed their weapons then why haven't you changed back yet?"

"I didn't use Cataclysm," he said simply. "Just my own two claws and maybe a cable or two. Little ball of destruction here." The cheek and pride in his voice was undeniable, and she snorted in response.

"Pfft, nice. So, Alya's okay?"

"Last I saw her, you had a minute left on your earrings and she was herself, running away from Evillustrator and Rogercop... But she'll be fine. Puppeteer's probably called them back to help get us now. And apparently she's been taking self defence classes because her best friend worries about her. She dealt with them before I even could. She's pretty good."

"Don't you go getting a crush on her, now," she teased. "I know you and your tough girls."

"Nah," he chucked. "You know my heart belongs to you, my Lady." He would have wagged his eyebrows if he could have. "Besides, I couldn't steal her away from Nino."

He felt her tense again... Did... did she know Nino?

"Nino? Is – is that her boyfriend?" she asked carefully.

He shrugged. "Who knows with those two."

There was silence for a while, but slowly he felt the tension leave the air. "So, how did you free us anyway?"

"Ah..." He rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly. "I kind of... ripped the dolls to pieces."

"What?!"

"I know, I know!" he cried. "I feel horrible about it, but it was the only thing I could think to do. I had the four of you hunting me down trying to get a hold of the Chat Noir doll, and if they got that it was game over. And I thought... well, if there wasn't a doll then they couldn't use it. I kinda just took a guess that destroying the dolls would break the spell. I was really worried that it would hurt you instead like voodoo or something, but it was my only chance." He sighed. "I feel really bad about it. Marinette must have worked so hard on those... I mean, I know that your Miraculous Cure will probably fix them, but still..."

"I'm sure Marinette will be fine," Tikki pipped up. "Like you said, they should be fixed by the cure. But even then, I'm sure she would understand why you did it."

He felt a smile tug at his lips. "Thanks, Tikki. I know I'm just being silly. Of course she would understand. She's pretty great like that. Sweetest person I know. Maybe I should drop her off a gift to say sorry anyway though..."

He was so deep in his pondering that he didn't hear the small gasp that escaped his partner. Nor did he have time to as a loud thump came from the door. They both jumped in surprise before something crashed against the door again and Chat rushed to brace it.

"How are you going there, Tikki?" Ladybug asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm almost done!" she squeaked around a mouthful.

"I guess she doesn't down a whole cookie like Plagg does cheese," he said wryly.

"Plagg's a glutton," Tikki shot back.

"Tikki, I have seen you inhale three cookies at once! Which is seriously impressive considering how tiny she is."

Chat's laugh was cut off as there was another crash at his back. "Okay, I don't mean to rush you, but sometime soon would be really good. This will only hold him off for so long."

"I thought you said they wouldn't be anymore trouble!" Ladybug worried.

"Well, it's not exactly like they can do much without their weapons," he countered. "I mean, once we go out there, this fight is in the bag. But Rogercop is still strong enough to break down this door and you're not transformed yet!"

"Okay, fair point."

There was another smash against the door and Chat heard parts of the door start to splinter. Considering the circumstances, it was a sound that was quite sickening. They needed to hurry.

"Ah, Ladybug!" he said urgently.

"I know, I know!" said shot back, her voice sounding frantic. "Tikki?"

"Nearly done! I'm sorry! I need to eat slower when I'm recharging or I don't gain any energy back! Is there somewhere we could hide?"

"I don't know," he told them. "I'd have to actually open my eyes to look for one. Speaking of, I don't know how much longer I can keep them closed with this guy pummelling the door into my back!" There was another crash and this time the splintering of the door was audible to even Ladybug and Tikki. He felt the door nudge open slightly, and he was jolted forward. Thankfully the door hit his staff and didn't open more than a fraction. He turned around, finally opening his eyes so he could see the damage. The wood around the lock was completely shredded up and broken where it had all but been torn out by the force of the impact. The door was open by a few inches, light spilling into the small cupboard. Ladybug would probably be able to see now.

Suddenly a blue, metal covered hand slammed into the door jamb, gripping onto the side of it as he tried to pry it open.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir. Come out, come out and give me your Miraculous~. Hide and Seek is over. I found you~!" The taunting child's words sounded incredibly odd coming from the deep robotic voice of Rogercop.

"T-Tikki!" Ladybug squeaked.

"Ready!" Tikki cried and instant later.

No sooner had she said this, Ladybug was ready with her call. "Spots on!"

Even though he wasn't looking, he could still see the bright pink light that filled the room. It took all his willpower not to turn around and watch what he knew would be a breath-taking transformation. Right as the light faded, he saw Rogercop's hand slip away and his eyes widened. He was going to ram the door again. In a split second, he was turning and grabbing Ladybug by the wrist, dragging her against the wall with him. She squeaked in protest, but he ignored it. Through the crack in the door he could see Rogercop backed up and starting to charge. He quickly grabbed his staff and shrunk it back down to a baton. He snatched it away from the door and made sure to hold Ladybug back against the wall so she wouldn't get hurt.

The moment his arm was clear, the huge form of Rogercop came barrelling through the door with a crash. The door smacked loudly against the other wall and Rogercop charged right past them, going so fast that he crashed into the end of the cupboard, his head stuck through the wall. Still holding Ladybug's wrist, he dashed out of the cupboard, taking her with him. Evillustrator was waiting for them, his stance low and his arms spread out slightly as if he was waiting to pounce on them… It really didn't take much for Chat to extend his baton again and sweep his feet out from under him. Evillustrator went down with a yelp and an 'oof' when he hit the ground. Chat was prepared to attack again as soon as Evillustrator got up... but he didn't. He stayed down.

"Right, now to find Puppeteer," he said. He turned to look at Ladybug, only to find her staring at him in awe. But catching him looking at her, she quickly schooled her features into her usual confident smirk.

"Quite impressive, Kitty," she told him. "Looks like you can do pretty well without me."

"I'd never do this without you. Not if I can help it." His voice was firm, but he knew that there was a fondness burning in his eyes. Ladybug certainly noticed and it seemed to give her pause, she looked a little shaken by the statement and he floundered to cover up his

intentions. "I mean, I can't exactly purify Akuma like you can. I'd be doomed on my own."

"Y-yeah, that's true. Right… Puppeteeter," she stuttered. "Where would she be?"

Chat looked around. "She was in here before… Well, we're still here, so she can't be far."

"When did you get so smart?" she chuckled.

"How do you know I haven't always been this smart? Maybe I just play a little dumb." He winked at her, heading out of the room.

Ladybug's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would you do that?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm kind of expected to be the best at everything, including academics, at home. It's nice to just relax a little when I'm Chat. Besides, being the brains is your thing." He turned back and opened the door. Though his tone was light, it certainly gave the impression that the discussion was over.

Ladybug chewed on her lip, trying and failing not to mull over the very _personal_ information she had found out about her partner. If he was expected to be the best at everything… did that mean he had a very strict upbringing? Was he different when he wasn't suited up? Did her playful kitten act as exuberant as he did because he couldn't act like that normally? If he did, then that certainly put everything about him in a new light…

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. That was his _personal_ life. Something she had decided not to get involved in. She couldn't, not if she wanted to keep their identities secret. She was already on the edge of breaking that promise without knowing more about him than she needed to.

"Hey, you okay?" His voice snapped her out of her revere and she saw him looking back at her in concern.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's go before Evillustrator and Rogercop decide to get off their butts and come get us."

Chat chuckled at that, then paused a moment, a look of concentration on his face and his ears twitching slightly. "That way," he said matter of fact, pointing off down the hall. "She was talking to Hawkmoth about a new plan of attack. I don't think they're getting very far."

"Sounds like you exhausted all her options," Ladybug smirked, following him as he headed off in the direction he pointed in a jog.

"Fingers crossed. So, you got a plan for this?"

"Not really," she shrugged, "Manon's just a child. I'm really hoping it will be as easy as going in, grabbing the tainted item and breaking it."

"Right, and the Akuma would be in… her… wand? I don't know. That's the only thing I could see on her."

"That's it!" she cried, stopping a moment before charging forward with more vigour. "Her wand! Manon had it in her bag today!" She looked over to Chat and found that he had stopped, staring at her in surprise. "What?" she asked. Then she realised what she'd said. She'd pretty much told him that she knew Manon out of her suit. "Oh! I- I um..."

"I didn't hear anything," he told her with an easy smile, catching back up with her.

"Liar."

"Okay, so I totally heard." His smile became a full, cheeky grin. "But I didn't hear anything if you didn't want me to."

"You're a dork!" she snorted. "…Thanks."

"You ready?" he asked as they came towards a door, choosing to let the previous conversation drop. "We don't have long. Evillustrator and Rogercop are running after us. We've got a minute at best."

"Right. This should be a piece of cake anyway."

"Ready?"

She nodded. "One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" they both hissed together, charging at the door and forcing it open.

A quick second check around the room showed that it was empty, aside from Puppeteer, her back turned to them as she shouted orders at her two remaining puppets. Her wand was held high in the air, and she didn't initially notice them charge in. In the split second it took for her to turn around and look at them in surprise, Ladybug's yoyo had shot out and snagged the wand, pulling it from the child's grasp.

In one swift motion, Ladybug caught the wand and snapped it over her knee. The black butterfly fluttered out and she caught it, happily wishing it goodbye after she purified it. Then she looked about almost in confusion. It felt like something was... missing?

Then her eyes landed on Chat, who stood with his open hand out towards her. Not ready for their fist-bump, but offering her something. Looking closer, she saw that there was a small item in his hand. A tiny cylindrical item that was red with black spots... It was a laser pointer.

"What's this?" she asked him.

"Your Lucky Charm," he replied, a faint blush appearing just below the edge of his mask. "I nabbed it off the floor in the other room. I thought you might need it."

"You're amazing, you know that, right?" she said, taking it from him.

He just shrugged in reply, not seeming to agree or disagree with her statement. For a moment she wanted to grab him and really reassure him that 'yes, he really was amazing' and 'yes, she really cared for him and he meant the world to her'. But she thought better of it, and with a small shake of her head, she threw the Lucky Charm into the air, shouting her call.

Instantly, an army of little magical ladybugs swarmed through the building sweeping past anything that was damaged and fixing it back to normal. A small pile of five hand stitched dolls appeared nearby, all whole and perfect. Not a scratch, tear or mark on them. Chat sighed in relief.

They both watched with smiles on their faces as black magic bubbled off Manon and she was returned to normal.

"Good job!" they said, fist-bumping. Of course, this got Manon's attention and her eyes lit up.

"Ahh! Ladybug! Chat Noir!" She ran up and hugged Ladybug's leg. "You guys are so cool! You always win and defeat the bad guys. And my babysitter makes really pretty dolls of you! And I really want them!"

Ladybug laughed. "I could imagine. Though, maybe you should ask your mother if you're allowed them first. I'm sure Marinette would make you some if your mum let you."

Manon's eyes grew wide. "She will?! Please, Ladybug! You have to get her to make me them! You're her best friend! She'll listen to you!"

"Best friend?" Chat asked, his tone teasing as he raised an eyebrow. Ladybug just gave him an annoyed squint as she picked the little girl up.

"Yeah! When me and the unicorn girl, Alya got stuck on the carousel! Marinette told Ladybug about us, because they're best friends!"

"I see," he said, smiling brightly at the child.

"Well then, it looks like we have a friend in common, my Lady," he said, not looking at her as he booped the grinning child on the nose. "Marinette is a good friend of mine too," he told her. "Isn't she lucky to have two superhero friends?"

"Yeah! I wish I has superhero friends too!"

Chat pouted. "Aww, what do you mean wish? I thought I was your friend!"

Manon giggled, covering her face with her hands as she giggled in delight. "I'm friends with Chat Noir!" she declared in a whisper to Ladybug as they started off back to the lobby where Nadia was probably waiting anxiously for her daughter.

"Of course you are," Ladybug told her. "And Chat is a wonderful friend. And guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm your friend too," she said, pressing their noses together, making the girl squeal with happiness.

As they made their way back to the lobby, they continued to chat playfully. Chat carried three of the dolls in his arms, having given the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls to Manon to carry till they got there.

When they did, she wriggled her way out of Ladybug's arms and dropped the dolls. Ladybug picked them up again with a fond roll of her eyes.

"Mama!" she cried. "Guess what? Guess what?!"

"Wh-what?" Nadia stuttered, sweeping Manon up into her arms. She honestly just looked relieved that her daughter was alright.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir are my friends now!"

"Are they?"

"Mmhm," the little girl hummed, nodding vigorously.

Hugging her daughter tight, Nadia looked over Manon's shoulder at Ladybug and Chat Noir and mouthed a thank you at them. The two heroes nodded, and then bounded off out the door, waving to Manon as they went. It wasn't long till they were a block away on top of a roof.

"Here, I'll take those," Ladybug said reaching her hand out for Chat to give her the dolls. "I'll drop them back to Marinette's."

"But I-" Chat looked down at the dolls, seeming torn. Then he sighed, holding them out to her. "Okay." She was about to ask if he was okay when a bright smile spread across his face. "I have something to do anyway. See you later, Ladybug!" And with that, he dashed off before she could say or do anything else.

.

Later that night, Marinette was startled by the sound of tapping from her roof. She looked up to her sky light in time to see cheeky green eyes disappear and a black figure slink back into the shadows. She raced up the ladder, trying to get to her roof in time to catch him, but she was too late. Chat was nowhere to be found. What she did see, however, was a rather large box on the ground. It was wrapped in black paper with a bright green bow.

He had done it. He had actually gone and gotten her an apology gift for something that didn't even matter anymore.

She smiled and shook her head as she looked at the note attached. When she spoke, her voice was soft and fond.

"Idiot."


End file.
